Pregnant KCMO Wendy’s manager attacked by homeless man at work

KANSAS CITY, Mo -- As a manager at the Wendy’s on NW Barry Road, Shelby Reynolds is a pro at handling customer complaints.

But when homeless man, 45-year-old Derrick Proctor, came in to buy a gift card, there was no negotiation.

“And he just started getting hostile with me and didn't want me to help him at all,” Reynolds said. “I gave him his gift card and gave him his change, and I said, 'You know, I am just going to ask that you leave cause you are being a little hostile with me.'"

Proctor wouldn't leave, so Reynolds said she was calling the cops.

“Upon that point, he punched me in the forehead and ran behind the counter and started hitting me in the head," Reynolds said.

The attack was especially brutal because Reynolds is seven months pregnant and has miscarried before.

“I just started covering my child for dear life, and terrified, pooed my pants, just felt hopeless," she said. "Just the only think I could think of was to protect my child."

By protecting her unborn baby, Reynolds said she couldn't protect herself from Proctor's viscous attack, so another employee jumped in and stopped it.

Reynolds' baby, a little girl, is OK.

“We don’t have cameras in our store and no panic buttons, and the fact that he was able to just walk behind the counter was terrifying enough,” Reynolds said. “You just don't expect something like that to happen."

It came as a bigger shock to Reynolds because she says Proctor is a regular at her store. She said he lives behind the shops at Boardwalk Square in a little cutout with several other homeless people.

Thinking about going back to work is traumatic for the expectant mother.

"I have a child on the way, so at some point I have got to provide and get back to work," she said. "I don't know how, so kind of one day at a time."

Proctor has been charged with felony assault. If found guilty, he could spend up to four years in prison.